Barcelona wanted Lukas Bergvall before Spurs snapped up the most highly-rated talent in Scandinavia. Destiny Udogie and Guglielmo Vicario had admirers amongst the top sides in Serie A too.
And, according to the agent of Radu Dragusin, the £26 million January signing from Genoa rebuffed the advances of Napoli and Bayern Munich – champions of Italy and Germany at the time – before putting pen to paper with Ange Postecoglou’s side.
The acquisition of Archie Gray represents a continuation of such a theme.
A revelation in the Championship last season, Gray established himself as one of the first names on Leeds United’s team sheet long before his 18th birthday.
And while £35 million is a lot of money for a teenager with only one year of first-team football under his belt, ask anyone who knows Gray well and they will tell you that Tottenham are likely to see a serious return on their investment.
Daniel Farke, Leeds’ head coach, opened up about Gray’s departure during his press conference ahead of Saturday’s second-tier curtain-raiser against Portsmouth.
And he admits that, like they did in signing Bergvall, Udogie, Vicario and Dragusin, Tottenham fought off from fairly sizeable competition when landing Gray.
“There’s a reason every top club in Europe went after Archie,” Farke tells Leeds Live.
Losing Farke and Championship Player of the Year Crysencio Summerville will not aid Leeds’ hopes of sealing automatic promotion next season, even if it has freed up funds for the play-off finalists to land Norwich City starlet Jonathan Rowe.
Farke, however, insists that he remains confident in the backing afforded to him by the Elland Road bosses.
Leeds begin Championship campaign against Pompey
“I would have loved to keep Archie but that’s not the point. We are in great talks,” the former Norwich boss adds, Leeds forced to cash in due to their Financial Fair Play concerns.
“(This is) why I signed a long contract. Our owners want to back us. But we have to stick to the rules. In life, like football, you pay for sins of the past.
“I feel backed. I don’t have the feeling the club and the board and the owners are there to make my life easy or please me or suit me. I understand my job the other way. I am there to please the club. I don’t complain.
“My aim was to bring stability in terms of the group we have. A great identification with the club. It was tough last season.
“Only thing that works is hard work on my side. Try to give this to the club. We had a 17-year-old last year (who is worth) a multi-million pound (fee) now, who had not played before.
“Of course, I would have liked promotion and (to keep) improving the squad. But we have to accept the rules and the fact the player may outgrow the club.”
Gray has impressed during Tottenham’s pre-season tour, playing with a poise and a maturity far beyond his years alongside Bergvall, Will Lankshear and 16-year-old sensation Mikey Moore.
HITC understands that Real Madrid and PSG have shown an interest in Moore but the teenager is now expected to sign a first professional contract with Spurs.
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